Plant City High enjoyed an excellent 2015 season. Its 11-2 record and regional championship appearance added up to the best year in school history. For a program that had to undergo a surprise head coaching change and lost key talent, it’s not a bad look at all.
Naturally, the Winter Strawberry Capital of the World will have high expectations for the Raiders in 2016. Head coach Greg Meyer already appears to be up for the challenge and, now that he’s had a year to put his own stamp on the program, it sounds as though the entire program is with him.
“We’ve got a good culture breeding right now,” Meyer says.
ON THE FIELD
The easiest way for any coach, in any sport, to have a positive impact on team culture is to win games. Fortunately for the Raiders, it didn’t take long to do so in 2015.
Plant City rode an 11-game win streak throughout the season, boldly going where no Raiders team has ever gone before. The Raiders were often cited as a potential district winner, so long as they learned how to maximize their talents, but weren’t widely considered a playoff force until later in the season. Losing defensive stalwarts Tommy Bennett and Peyton Collins didn’t help either.
But Meyer and his staff were able to maximize talents.
“I think the biggest thing that was different was the effort to keep things as simple as possible,” Meyer says. “Even as the challenges increased with the level of the opponents we faced, we didn’t over-analyze.”
This line of thinking is possibly Meyer’s biggest takeaway from last season, and it appears that it’ll stick with the team for as long as he’s around.
“One of the biggest things we talked about at the beginning of the year, with Armwood, was that, as a coaching staff, we over-schemed,” he says. “We over-prepared. The main lesson we learned in that defeat was not over-coach — just to stay within the framework of what your kids can do well and letting that speak for itself. Be willing to win and lose with that.”
Of course, it’s easier to craft simple offensive and defensive schemes when the talent pool is deep. Plant City has been known to have some of the top talent in the Tampa Bay area in recent years and, even with a huge senior class set to leave, Meyer says that his group of youngsters looks ready to step up to the challenge. He’ll drop nearly enough names to fill a phone book: Ashton Mincey, Cody Cribbs, D.J. Gordon, Treshaun Ward and Corey St. John will be asked to fill big roles, and experienced guys like Tydre Ward, Tammarion Faison and Steven Ogletree will be expected to pave the way as experienced seniors. That’s including the return of Antoine Thompson, whom Meyer describes as Clemson-bound wideout T.J. Chase’s equal.
Another goal is to retain as much of the coaching staff as possible. Meyer says that many of his staffers are capable of becoming head coaches and, noting former assistant John Thompson’s success at Gibbs High this year, Meyer could be correct.
But keeping players and coaches from switching schools is a deeper task than putting a good team on the field every Friday. Things that happen off the field are crucial to any program’s success, and Meyer is doing his best to ensure that everyone on board feels like they’re part of something great.
OFF THE FIELD
Before becoming head coach, Meyer devoted much of his time to helping his athletes get collegiate offers. He’s helped get kids on the radar of NCAA Division I programs, such as Alabama, Clemson, Nebraska, Purdue, Temple, Air Force and Florida International, and many others found homes in programs like Stetson, Southeastern, New Mexico Military Institute and more.
For the athletes, knowing that they’re playing at a school that college scouts know to look for is encouraging. But there’s more to the program than just wanting to play college football.
“College football is not for everybody, and that’s fine,” Meyer says. “We just want to make sure we did our best to facilitate the opportunity. We stay involved and support as much as we can, but that’s really what it’s all about. When they walk out these doors, they’ve got something to work toward. I think it gives kids a little extra boost for when they’re trying to take on new things.”
Meyer says that he and his staff are committed to helping the players find their calling after high school, whether that means helping them find internships, writing letters of recommendation or inviting military recruiters to work out with those interested in serving.
“One of the things I’ve taken pride in — one of the things I took from working at Plant (High School) — is that there’s a fundamental idea,” Meyer says. “People ask how you motivate kids to perform at a high level and commit. Our mantra for the kids is, ‘If you sell out for us, and you do this the right way, you’re going to get a commitment from us to sell out for you.’”
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.